


You're Home

by NimueOfTheNorth



Category: NCIS, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, M/M, Reunion, Tony gets some appreciation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 11:25:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15484716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NimueOfTheNorth/pseuds/NimueOfTheNorth
Summary: Tony fell for John while he was flying a Pentagon desk and before he went to Atlantis. Now, after a year of longing, his pilot walks right into his bullpen accompanied by surprises.





	You're Home

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head for quite a while but it never really went anywhere. By now, I might just be another victim of Jilly's "If found" headcanon (not that I'm complaining). So I decided it just had to go out into the world being the little bunny that it was.
> 
> I've changed a few things about Tony and John's backstories. You can find those sketched out in the notes at the end.

 

Tony dropped down beside his lover in a sweaty heap. Taking a lengthy ride on John’s cock wasn’t as easy as it would have been 15 years ago - but still oh so very worth it.

When their breaths had returned to something closer to normal again, he found a more comfortable position to cuddle into John’s side. There would be time to clean up later.

“You ready to talk yet?”

“Is there anything particular I should be talking about?” John sounded evasive and didn’t even try to hide it.

“Don’t do this to me, John. We promised we’d always talk when it was important. And anything that has you this distracted is important.”

“I’m sorry. I had wanted to wait until the morning, not ruin our night and all that.” He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I received my next assignment.”

“Okay.” A knot was forming in Tony’s throat.

"We knew it would happen at some point. The only reason Hammond has a pilot with my qualifications fly a Pentagon desk is to rub it under everybody's nose how a power-hungry, honourless commander and a grieving father tried to put a black mark on my jacket and failed."

“Yeah. I think he’s rather awesome like that.”

“He is. I’ve rarely trusted a commanding officer as much as him.”

“So when are you leaving and where to?”

“To Colorado. On Monday.”

"That's soon." Tony sat up, staring at the opposite wall. He wasn't sure what to feel. He wanted John to do what he loved again, but he also wanted him near. Nine months with John had changed a lot in Tony's life, and he wasn't eager to give that up. Even if they had to keep their relationship out of the public eye.

"It's not the final location; that's top secret. I have three months of preparation before we ship out. I hope we can squeeze in a few visits during that time." John hesitated, and Tony prepared for whatever came next. "After that, I'll be cut off from all communications for a year or more."

“What?!” Tony looked back at John in shock. He had not been prepared to hear that. Where could the Air Force send him in this day and age where he had no means of communication? Or how dangerous could the mission be to keep complete silence for that amount of time? “And you have to take this?”

“Strictly speaking, no. The whole project is voluntary only.” He wouldn’t meet Tony’s eyes.

“John, we both know what that means as far as military projects go. Are you sure about this?” Tony leaned back towards John again.

“Yes.” The certainty of the one word was startling. “There’s a large contingent of civilian scientists going. This is no cannon fodder, throw away the key and forget about mission. And it’s stupidly important.”

"Colorado. From what else you've said, I'm guessing that means Cheyenne Mountain. There are a lot of crazy rumours going around just what exactly the Air Force is doing down there. The only thing everybody can agree upon is that it isn't deep space radar telemetry."

“You know I can confirm and deny nothing. Just please don’t go digging into any of it.” John pulled on Tony’s shoulders until he laid down in the crook of his arm again.

"Okay. I won't go searching for information, but you can't fault a guy for keeping his ears open."

“At least not you. That would be like asking you to stop breathing. And I wouldn’t want to have you any other way.”

“What about us?” Tony asked the question he was most afraid of.

“I don’t want to break up with you.”

“Then don’t.”

“Doesn’t seem fair.”

“Screw fair. I… I’d rather you know that I’m here waiting for you.”

John's arm tightened around his shoulders, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I'd like that. But… well, we've never actually said that we were entirely exclusive. So let's stick with that, and if something does happen while I'm gone, it's not the end of the world, okay?"

Tony nodded slowly and clung to John even tighter than before. He couldn't even imagine falling into bed with anybody else, but he could agree to that. Even though the thought that John might find comfort in somebody else's arms made his heart ache.

When he thought John might have nodded off, he heard a quiet murmur pressed into his hair.

“Just don’t go and fall in love with anybody else. I call dibs on that.”

 

* * *

 

 

**14 months later**

 

They were finishing up the paperwork for their latest case. If Tony didn’t end up strangling Ziva that was. That would generate a whole new batch of paperwork. Maybe going through the required forms in his mind would distract him enough to ignore her.

"It's no wonder Tony figured out why the Sergeant was almost killed. Birds of the same colour, yes? He must have recognised a fellow womaniser within minutes."

“It’s _birds of the same feather flock together_ , Ziva,” Tim corrected her.

“Whatever. But I don’t feel all that sorry for the Sergeant. He should have treated the women he slept with with more respect.”

“Your personal opinion of the victim’s lifestyle is of no relevance for our investigation, Officer David,” Tony interrupted her. He was beyond fed up with her attitude and fervently wished Gibbs would show up to curb the worst with his sheer presence, it wasn’t like he was actually saying much. Tony was tired of fighting her. “Your report, however, is so please get on with it and it better be all in English for a change.”

Ziva just shrugged and leaned against her desk. "He's lucky to be alive. Hey, maybe we're lucky, and one of your many exes tries the same with you, Tony, and rids us all of your annoying presence."

"Report, Ziva." Tony wanted to grit his teeth, but it would only give her the satisfaction of having gotten to him.

"Actually…" Tim sounded pondering, and while you could never be sure where that led to, it was rarely a good sign. "Tony hasn't talked about going out with a lot of different women lately. I can't even remember the last time he told us about a conquest."

What a moment for Tim to become observant.

“Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later,” Ziva said with a smug tone. “He isn’t getting any younger, and more mature women are less likely to fall for his cheap game.”

“Reports done?” Gibbs swept past with the smell of strong coffee following in his wake.

“Just waiting on the evidence log from McGee and everything from Ziva, boss,” Tony didn’t even bother to look up. His own forms were long since filled out and printed, and he had been working on the SFA paperwork due at the end of the month for almost half an hour.

“Almost completed the log, boss,” Tim piped up and turned back to his computer.

“Ziva?” Gibbs settled in behind his own desk and looked at her expectedly.

"I have already submitted my main report to DiNozzo, but he returned it to me as unsatisfying."

“Yes, because I can’t file a report that is one-third in Hebrew,” Tony said with as neutral a tone as he could muster.

“Your lack of language skills is hardly my fault.”

Tony looked up at her at that. "Do you really think that after five years with you on this team, I haven't learned at least the basics of your language? Admittedly, my pronunciation is terrible, but I have acquired solid passive skills both in spoken and written Hebrew."

It was rather gratifying to see the flicker of panic in her eyes. He knew very well the kind of insults about him she put into those botched versions of her reports. He’d saved a copy of each and every one.

"I understand all too well, Officer David. What you don't seem to understand is that we are an American federal agency and operate in English, meaning all the documentation of our investigations needs to be filed in English, or it isn't admissible in court. Now, please do the work this agency is paying you for so your superiors may start their weekend before the sun goes down for a change."

“You are not my superior,” she snorted and crossed her arms in front of her chest defiantly.

“Yes, he is. Finish your reports,” Gibbs said in his usual eloquent manner before turning to his own files.

It was hardly the talking to Ziva had earned herself ages ago, but at least Gibbs had backed him up. Tony had had much less in the past so he'd take it. And it got Ziva to shut up and get back behind her PC. More annoyingly, Tim was now throwing quizzical glances his way. Great. That meant he had to come up with a new dating story to tell on Monday to throw McSherlock off his trail.

Tim finished his paperwork and was packing up his things while Gibbs looked it over, preparing to leave, when the elevator dinged. “What is the Air Force doing here?” he asked standing behind his desk with the best view.

Tony's head snapped up. Four men in blue uniforms were walking towards the stairs. The two in the front were both Generals, and he immediately recognised one as Hammond but had never seen the other. But what really drew his gaze was the man behind Hammond.

A Colonel with ridiculous hair and intelligent green eyes. He held himself with confidence but also with the alertness of someone always expecting an attack. His face was harsher and more haunted than Tony had seen it in a long time.

John.

John was home and alive and here.

But was this much more serious man still his John? There was something about him Tony didn’t recognise.

They were halfway past the team's area of the bullpen when John turned his eyes to Tony and gave him a quick wink and the shadow of a smile. The moment was over before it really began, but Tony was filled with the warmth of it.

He had to stop himself from smiling like a schoolgirl with a crush.

That was very much still his John right there.

 

* * *

 

 

Tim had abandoned his plans to go home in favour of visiting Abby, which they all knew was short for telling her about the unexpected visitors and giving her a chance to come up with an excuse to come up to the bullpen to witness whatever was going on first hand.

Ziva was still mulishly working on her reports, kept in line by regular stern glances from Gibbs, while Tony was almost done bringing all his documentation up to date.

None of them was prepared for Tom Morrow's voice to come down from the mezzanine.

“Agent DiNozzo, would you join us, please?”

“Tom. How did you sneak in?” Gibbs asked gruffly in lieu of a greeting.

“It hasn’t been that long, Jethro. I still know my way around the building. Tony?”

Tony had hastily finished the entry he was working on and locked down his PC while standing up. “With pleasure, Director.”

Ziva sneered. “I wouldn’t be too excited if I were you. There’s no telling how you might have pissed off the Air Force, and if they send four people, it must be serious.”

“Your input is neither asked nor welcome, Officer David,” Morrow said cooly.

Tony was jogging up the stairs which made it easier to ignore his teammates, whether they were making snide comments or glaring at his back with curiosity. Reaching the top, he grabbed Morrow's outstretched hand. "Good to see you again, Sir."

“Likewise, Tony. Come on through.”

Entering the Director's office was an everyday occurrence and shouldn't make his nerves flutter. But John was behind this door, and after not having seen him at all for almost a year, that gave him butterflies. Then there was the fact that he'd arrived with brass of some significance, they were meeting at work, and Tony's knowledge that John had been part of a super top secret, very dangerous project this last year, and he couldn't fight the feeling that something much bigger than a happy reunion was waiting for him behind these doors.

He inhaled deeply and hid his nervousness behind one of his many masks. “Gentlemen. General Hammond, it’s a pleasure to meet you again.”

“Pleasure is all mine, son. This is General Jack O’Neill, and I believe you have met Major Davis.”

O'Neill gave a little wave that Tony answered with a respectful "General," and he and Davis exchanged nods, having crossed paths a few times before.

Morrow had retaken his seat in the meantime, and Vance was looking around the men at his conference table with growing confusion and irritation, much to Tony's amusement.

“Take a seat, son,” Hammond invited and pointed to the empty chair beside John who gave Tony an encouraging smile.

Tony settled in and suppressed the pleased shudder as his knee brushed against John’s. He turned his full attention towards the head of the table but didn’t ask any questions. They asked him to join them, they would tell him what they wanted him for when they were good and ready.

Vance cleared his throat. “General Hammond, this all nice and well, but I’m still unclear as to why you were sent to deliver the new UCMJ to me and why you wanted DiNozzo of all people to join us.” The man was terrible at hiding his irritation.

To Tony's surprise, it was Morrow who answered. "If I may, Leon. I think you could say the delivery of the UCMJ was more a matter of convenience, as George was coming over anyway. It has some tangential relevance as it brings about the end of DADT. It'll be announced to the public on Monday but effective immediately, people can join and serve in all branches of the armed forces while also openly living and expressing their homosexuality or bisexuality including entering same-sex marriages if these are possible at their place of residence."

Tony’s breath caught in his throat.

He reached his hand out towards John under the table, and it was grabbed by strong, warm fingers he'd missed so very much. This was almost too good to be true; things like this never happened to him. He forced his attention back to Morrow.

"George and I have, I guess you could say adjacent jobs, and he approached SecNav and me for our recommendations for a position."

"Technically," Hammond took over, "it's Jack's project that has a position to fill. I'm mostly here to bring home that the details are strictly need-to-know and you do not need to know, Director Vance."

Tony could see Vance's hackles going up, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Long story short," O'Neill spoke for the first time since Tony joined them, "I have a super secret base in the middle of nowhere, and I'm about to send out a lot more people, so I need some form of law enforcement. While our officer corps is mostly Air Force, the majority of the troops are Marines, and SecNav promised me some SEALs. We also have a large population of civilian scientists so I was convinced that NCIS as a technically civilian agency with plenty of experience in dealing with the military would be best suited for the job. We think that an RU of two should be enough for a start, as base security will be assigned to support them as needed."

“I’m sure I can put together a list of suitable candidates for you, General O’Neill,” Vance said with an air of importance and calculation.

"That won't be necessary, we already know who we want, and that's DiNozzo. Unless he'd rather not." O'Neill's tone allowed no argument and Tony was curious to see if Vance could contain himself. He also wondered how he had become the one man list and fervently hoped that it wasn't merely as a personal favour to John.

“DiNozzo? Why would you want DiNozzo?” Vance sounded so utterly flabbergasted that Tony could barely refrain from rolling his eyes. If people only listened to him, they should really be asking why he kept employing Tony at all.

O’Neill turned towards them. “Sheppard, it’s your gig and your choice. Care to elaborate?”

John cleared his throat. "We need somebody with broad experience, that can think outside the box and be flexible in unforeseen circumstances. We obviously need someone who will be respected by the military personnel, and I know Tony's field readiness, marksmanship and hand-to-hand skills will easily accomplish that. But we also need someone who is easy to approach for the civilians, inspires trust, and can intellectually keep up with our bunch of mad geniuses at least to a certain degree. Again, all skills Tony excels at. He has worked successfully as an agent afloat, which means he's well prepared to work as independently as we'll need him to. He's also rock solid under stress and takes his job very seriously. He'd be the perfect candidate even if I hadn't a purely selfish interest in getting him onto our base."

Tony was fighting the blush climbing up his cheeks but losing that battle. Intellectually, he knew his strengths. But after years of being put down or ignored by so many and in one way or the other, having John lay his qualities out like that was almost too much. But it also made his heart swell.

Vance swallowed harshly. “If your mind is made up on the matter of DiNozzo, I’m sure I can find a second agent to send along that will even out DiNozzo’s weaknesses.”

"Actually," O'Neill piped up, "we'd like for DiNozzo to pick who he wants to work with on this. Given their circumstances, they'll have to get along. And I don't know what impression you've gotten from me, but I've read DiNozzo's file after Sheppard recommended him. His entire file. It supports every single point John made and then some. DiNozzo's BA in Forensics doesn't hurt at all. By the way," he turned towards Tony, completely dismissing Vance, " with the group of scientist we have around, you can finish that MA you've got going with them. Sheppard can fill you in on the details."

Tony was about to thank O’Neill for mentioning that option. He’d put in too much work already to just give up on finishing the degree. But Vance wasn’t having any of it.

“You can’t just come in here and pluck whichever agent you want for a project I haven’t even been read in on!”

Vance was close to going ballistic, and Tony was settling in for the show. Neither Hammond, O'Neill, nor Morrow was the kind to be at all impressed by the tantrums of someone like Leon Vance. He pushed the question of his possible new assignment aside for now. John would tell him all he really needed to know about it later, likely after he signed a ridiculous amount of non-disclosure papers.

"Yes we can," Hammond answered overly calmly. "That is exactly what SecNav promised us. Maybe you should read that paperwork he sent along, and you set aside after all. His only condition was that the agents in question be briefed on all aspects of the assignment and no pressure be exerted to gain their involvement."

"Which is a moot point because the whole project was and will remain voluntaries only from the get-go," O'Neill added. "That said, I think we're done here. Sheppard, take your lover home and tell him everything, Davis, make sure all the lines are signed before they celebrate their reunion. Anybody up for some decent burgers?" He clapped his hands and stood up, effectively ending the conversation.

Everyone but Morrow and Vance followed suit.

“You’d do well not to argue with this, Leon,” Morrow told him. “You can accept the decision from SecNav or hear exactly the same from the President. It’s happening either way.” He got up as well.

They were almost out the door that Davis was holding for them when Vance spoke up again.

“Hold on. Lovers?”

"Sheppard and DiNozzo have been in a relationship for almost two years, I believe," Hammond explained. "I don't know what kind of arrangement they made for the year they've been separated by John's commission, and that is none of my business, but to my eyes, they seem eager to reconnect." The last was said with the fond smile Tony remembered from when he and John had first gotten together. He _really_ liked Hammond.

“Why else would the abolition of DADT have any bearing on this? Do keep up, Leon,” Morrow admonished before walking out of his old office as if he still owned it.

John's hand settled at the small of Tony's back, solid, warm and familiar, to guide him past Cynthia's desk. Back out above the bullpen, O'Neill turned to Tony and held out his hand for him to shake.

“Nice meeting you, Agent DiNozzo.”

“Thank you, General. Not that I got a word in.” Tony felt rather bewildered by how the meeting had gone.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been warned that it’s not your normal state of being but given who I fell for, I can hardly fault you for that. I’m not normally one to talk over people like that, but we couldn’t really explain any details in front of Vance. I hope to have you as part of the project soon, but let John tell you exactly what you’d be getting yourself into. Ask all the questions that you need and those you don’t think you need as well, Sheppard will know who to direct them to. And take your time making a decision, both on joining and on who you’d like as your second. George, what about those burgers?” He clapped his hands again, rubbing them together as he turned to the older man with excitement in his eyes.

Their little huddle broke up with handshakes and goodbyes. The Generals headed out while Morrow went down to Gibbs, saying something about making sure Tony could leave without a hassle. Davis picked downstairs by the large window to check messages on his phone and wait for them.

John waved Tony towards the railing, away from the door, though Tony was all too aware how many eyes were following his every move from the level below.

“Tony, I’m sorry to spring this on you like this. But I haven’t been stateside that long and you know how debriefs can get. Still, I should have called.”

"But we always joked about how it would be cool if one day, DADT was gone and you could come here and sweep me into your arms and kiss me senseless in front of all my clueless coworkers." Tony remembered those moments of silly, wishful dreaming curled up in bed or on his couch all too well.

"It sounded a lot more Hollywood romantic in my head than it feels in real life." John hesitated a moment before reaching for Tony's hand. "Are you alright with this? We haven't even talked for a year, and I just come bursting in here trying to turn your life upside down."

Tony looked into John’s eyes and saw the man he’d fallen head over heels in love with. “I think I’d like a kiss.”

“You sure?”

“About the kiss? Yes. The rest, we’ll have to see.”

“I can work with that.”

John leaned in slowly as if he wanted to give Tony time to change his mind. When their lips met, it was everything he remembered and more. But it wasn’t enough. And if John wasn’t taking it any further, Tony totally would.

He buried his free hand in John's hair and pulled him in closer, opening his lips and demanding entry with his tongue. He vaguely registered somebody saying "What the fuck?" downstairs and a squeal he thought was Abby's, but he didn't care. John was matching his passion. Their tongues were dancing over one another, relearning each other's feel and taste. It was perfect.

It didn't last long enough, but they both pulled apart, well aware of where they were.

“How about we go somewhere we can talk?” John suggested.

“My apartment if the Major doesn’t mind coming along for the paperwork. I have everything for your favourite pasta at home.”

John groaned. "If there's pasta in it for me, I'll convince Davis to go anywhere." He tucked on their still joined hands, and they made their way down the stairs.

Tony raised a questioning eyebrow at Gibbs and got an imperceptible nod in answer, so he started packing up his things.

"Who are you and what is going on?" Ziva had gotten up and around her desk, trying to intimidate John with her question. It would be funny if it weren't so pitiful.

“Colonel John Sheppard and none of your business.”

“Oh! I haven’t even congratulated you to your promotion! Do I want to know what you did to get that so soon?” Tony looked up from properly shutting down his PC.

“No, you don’t, but I’ll tell you anyway. Ready?”

“Yes.” He slipped on his jacket and reached for his backpack but found that already in John’s hand. He just rolled his eyes at his lover’s antics. The thought made him smile. He’d missed John terribly and had begged the fates every night to let him return to him safe and sound. And here he was.

“Enjoy your weekend, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said.

“Thanks, boss,” Tony answered over Ziva’s indignant protest. He was rather glad that Tim and Abby hadn’t managed to pick up their jaws from the floor, it made getting out of there much easier.

As the elevator was descending, Tony couldn’t quite keep his curiosity and worry in check any longer.

“So how deep is that rabbit hole you’re dragging me down?”

“Very deep and not all wonderful on the other side,” John admitted.

“But you still want me to join you.”

"The protective part of me wants you here and safe, but that's an illusion in your line of work anyway. The selfish part of me wants you with me. It's stupidly dangerous, but just as I promised to do my damnedest to come back home to you, I will promise to do my damnedest to keep you safe."

"And seeing as you are standing here in front of me with all body parts still attached, I'd say your track record with promise-keeping is pretty good. You know I would follow you almost everywhere, don't you?" Tony said in a low voice even though there was little chance Davis wasn't hearing every word in the small space.

"This is huge, Tony. I would never expect you to throw your whole life overboard on nothing more than my sayso."

“I already packed my Mighty Mouse stapler. Just in case.”

The smile spreading over John’s face was worth anything. Tony had started over many times in his life. He had never felt this good about it.

**Author's Note:**

> Backstories:
> 
> Tony caught on to what Jenny was trying with the Bennoit op quickly and went to SecNav. It caused a big ol' mess and before Vance could take over, SecNav had sent Tony afloat for six months to keep him out of the line of fire until the dust settled (not as punishment).
> 
> John is mostly explained in the story, only there might be a Keira and Jilly inspired former Admiral Daddy Sheppard in the background as well. And I'm fairly sure (or it's my headcanon, don't care) that John was passed over for promotion due to his black mark at least once before he went to Atlantis. So I have him go out there a Lieutenant Colonel already.


End file.
